Tag: fandom

REVIEW: Con Quest by Sam Maggs

REVIEW: Con Quest by Sam Maggs

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Cat – 12 years old. Daughter of 2 famous comics writers. Geekicon pro. And this year at Geekicon, she is determined to win the Quest – an unsanctioned scavenger hunt set at the con. Winners get to do charity work for a week with a major movie star.

Alex – Cat’s twin brother. Artist. Gamer. On the autism spectrum. Megafan of Epic, the comic. Alex would be happy to spend the day in Artist’s Alley talking to other creators. But at Geekicon, he can get the autograph of his favorite artist. The fact that he can use that opportunity to help his sister in the Quest is icing on the cake.

Fi – 14 years old. The twins’ older sister. Charged with watching them at the con. If she can show her responsibility here, her parents might let her go on a camping trip with the cool kids from school. But first she has to survive the wall-to-wall people at the smelly nerdfest – and not lose track of the twins.

Review

This was SO FUN! I am a huge fan of comic and fan conventions. And a huge fan of books set at conventions. This is a great addition to that book niche. The convention here is clearly a SDCC-ish event, although the description easily fit my smaller con experience, too.  Con fans will recognize the cosplay, con food, the thrill of discovering a new artist, and meeting a celebrity experiences. There’s tons to love here!

Alex, Cat and Fi take turns telling the story, which is great. There’s a lot of sibling stuff going on here. Alex wants Cat to treat him as an equal partner. Cat is so used to behavioral hiccups with Alex that she bulldozes over him a lot of the time. This dynamic between Cat and Alex was one of my favorite parts of the book. And Fi is so desperate to fit in with the popular kids, it makes her a tyrant with her younger siblings at this convention. Fi changes the most over the course of the story, but Alex and Cat get to grow as well.

At times, the Quest feels like it’s taking the fun out of the con. Cat gets so driven that she rushes Alex away from things he enjoys but aren’t achieving anything for her. Thankfully, the scavenger hunt is only during one day of the event, so there’s always hope that they will get to just enjoy themselves after it’s over. There’s a lot of push and pull here about the goals of the characters for this event.

I’m not used to middle grade books having romantic plot lines beyond crushes. I read another one this year where there was a romance between the main characters, and for me it felt like it pushed the audience up into the 10-14 range rather than the typical 8-12 for middle grade. I tend to fall on the more conservative side, though, when it comes to dating and boyfriends/girlfriends in elementary school. That said, there is a romantic element here between Fi and a girl she knows from school who is at the convention. The fact that Fi is a point of view character draws the romance a little closer to the reader. But the fact that Fi is older might also give it some distance for the typical middle grade reader. It’s something to keep in mind. Third graders reading middle grade might have a different reaction to the romantic plot than 6th graders. Personally, I would set this for the older 10-14 crowd.

Convention fans should be sure to check this one out. I enjoyed the journey with Alex, Cat and Fi, especially in 2020 when the only cons we are attending are virtual! (LGBTQ+)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = Loved it! Would re-read.

REVIEW: Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

REVIEW: Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Avon in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Marcus Caster-Rupp has just finished shooting his final season of Gods of the Gates. His public persona has always been on the “pretty but dim” side, and as an actor he can play that role convincingly. But now that shooting is done, maybe he could be something… more.

No one knows Marcus is Book!AeneasWouldNever!. He writes Gods of the Gates fanfiction. He loves the book version which is so much better than what the show runners have done lately with the characters. His favorite person on the fanfiction sites is UnapologeticLaviniaStan. She gets him and gets these characters. She will flip when she sees what the show runners have done in this next season. And not in a good way.

April, UnapologeticLaviniaStan on the fanfiction sites, is ready for serious life change. She kept her cosplay and fandom life secret at work in order to be taken seriously. And she’s never posted pictures of herself online in her cosplay because she doesn’t want to deal with fatphobic trolls. But she’s ready to take a stand and be 100% herself both in person and online.

When a beautiful cosplayer is trolled on Twitter, and Marcus is pulled into the conversation, he takes the high road, asking the woman out on a date (rather than eviscerating the trolls, which was his first instinct). But Marcus has no idea April is his fanfiction best friend, UnapologeticLaviniaStan. And if anyone finds out about his alter ego, Book!AeneasWouldNever!, Marcus’ career will be over.

Review

This was fantastic! It includes a fandom as well as a convention, which I always enjoy. (You can read my post from earlier this year about fandom and fan convention stories here.) There’s a You’ve Got Mail piece to this too where April and Marcus meet in real life while also having an online relationship hidden behind screen names. At first, neither one knows about the connection. The main difference here is that they are not antagonists in real life like in the movie.

But the real life relationship means Marcus has to break the online relationship and keep the connection a secret for the sake of his job. While he likes April, it’s too soon to know if she can be trusted or if she would even understand the risks he has already taken by writing fanfiction – and talking about the show- in ways that could jeopardize his job.

I loved April and Marcus, together and separately. They have fantastic chemistry together. They also have depth. The author does an exceptional job with the emotional pieces of this – the personal insights, the empathy, the descriptions of toxic family relationships, etc. I adored this layer to the characters and to the larger story.

There’s a secondary relationship that was teased in this book, but mostly took place off-page. I had hoped it would get it’s own book. It seems like that relationship will be the focus of the next book, out next year. I am absolutely here for that story. This is my first book by this author, although I own one of her e-books – Desire and the Deep Blue Sea – and its sequel is on my wishlist. I’ll be bumping her books up on my TBR.

If you enjoy fanfiction and fandom stories like I do, do NOT miss this one! It feels like an adult version of the Geekerella/Once Upon a Con series, which I love. (Language, sex, CW: fat shaming, disability shaming, toxic families/trauma)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥=Great! Might re-read.

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Fandom and Fan Convention Stories

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Fandom and Fan Convention Stories

Posted on by Jaymie

Our family thoroughly enjoys attending comic and fan conventions, book signings, etc.. We have been to several over the last 8 years. We love meeting stars and authors, going to panels, and picking up new artwork of our favorite characters or new books from authors we discover.

Thanks to the pandemic, we’ve only been able to do some online fan events this year. While I appreciate ALL of the work that various groups have done to make these events happen, they are still no substitute for the real thing.

So if you are missing out on your usual con events this year, too, consider reading a book or two about the experience. I find these books bring back lots of fun Con memories (although I wish there were more for middle grade and adult readers). Here are some to consider:

Books for Older Kids/Teens

Con Quest! (LGBTQ+) –  A pair of twins ditch their family at a comics convention while they try to win a huge scavenger hunt. This is the book that gave me the idea to do this post. I love books like this! This was written by Sam Maggs. ♥♥♥♥½
The Game Masters of Garden Place – A group of kids playing an RPG (role playing game, like Dungeons and Dragons) find their characters have come to life. This was SO fun! You can read my review here.
Princesses, Inc – From the MIX line by Aladdin about a group of girls who open up a service of princesses and pirates to babysit neighborhood kids. You can read my review here.
Secrets of a Fangirl – A girl trying to keep her “geek life” separate from her popular “jock life” has a chance to win a contest to go to the movie premier for her fandom. But she will have to go up against older competitors who question her fan cred, and she risks showing her peers this geeky side of herself. This one is on my TBR shelves.

Books for Teens/Young Adults

 

Bookish and the Beast (LGBTQ+) – Book 3 in the Once Upon a Con series. Vance Reigns, Hollywood royalty, is hiding from a tabloid scandal in a small town. Rosie lives in that small town, and when she and Vance cross paths, and a rare book is accidentally destroyed, Rosie finds herself having to work off the debt. She also finds out that Vance is a jerk. Beauty and the Beast, anyone? I thoroughly enjoyed this one! ♥♥♥♥½
Bookishly Ever After – A book nerd tries to use the characters from her favorite books to help her negotiate a romance. You can read my review here.
Don’t Cosplay with My Heart – A struggling teen finds strength in her cosplay character and community. You can read my review here.
The Improbable Theory of Ana & Zak – An unlikely pair of teens team up to find  Ana’s younger brother at a fan convention when he sneaks away from a class trip. You can read my review here.
Eliza and Her Monsters – The anonymous creator of a popular webcomic  loses her anonymity, and everything she has built starts to fall apart. I have this one on my TBR shelves.
Fangirl (LGBTQ+) – When two sisters who grew up immersed in a magical fictional world (Harry Potter-ish) start college, one wants to keep writing her fanfiction and stay connected to that part of their childhood while the other wants to make a complete break. I read this forever ago – while at a fan convention – and it was delightful. ♥♥♥♥♥
Geekerella – Book 1 in the Once Upon a Con series. Elle wants to win a cosplay contest for a reboot of her father’s favorite scifi show. Darian wants nothing more than to be in the reboot, but the fandom seems to have written him off completely. Maybe Elle can change all that. You can read my review here.
The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love – A guy plans how to tell his best friend he loves her – at New York Comic Con. I haven’t read this one yet.
Now a Major Motion Picture – When their grandmother’s famous book series is being turned into a movie, a teen and her younger brother are on set to watch the magic happen. Until things start to fall apart which puts the whole movie in jeopardy. You can read my review here.
The Princess and the Fangirl (LGBTQ+) – Book 2 in the Once Upon a Con series. In this Prince and the Pauper-like tale, a Starfield fan and the actress who is absolutely over the series must team up to find out who is causing trouble for the franchise. ♥♥♥♥½
The Pros of Cons (LGBTQ+) – A mix-up at a hotel hosting 3 different groups – a percussion convention, a fan convention, and a taxidermy convention – brings three teens together in an unexpected friendship. You can read my review here.
Queens of Geek (LGBTQ+) – Three teens at a convention find unexpected chances at love. I haven’t read this one yet.
Verona Comics (LGBTQ+) – Two teens who meet at a comic convention prom wrestle with personal issues and their feuding families (rival comics shop owners) as they grow closer together.

 

Books for Adults

Battle at the Comic Expo – A comics creator and a con security chief team up when a fan goes rogue and comes after the creator for revenge. This is a new title to me. I only heard about this one when I was doing research for this post.
Broken Genius –  Book 1 in the new Will Parker Thriller series. In 2011, a coding error by young revolutionary CEO Will Parker cost a college student her life. His self-directed penance was joining the FBI Cyber Division. Years later, Will is on a case at a Midwest comic convention when he discovers the case involves tech from his pre-FBI life. You can read my review here.
The Con Artist – An illustrated mystery that takes place at San Diego Comic Con. I haven’t read this one.
Loathe at First Sight – As a joke, Melody shares an idea for an app starring male strippers in a survival game, but it quickly becomes her company’s hottest new project, and she’s running the whole thing. There’s a portion of this book that takes place at a gaming convention, some of my favorite scenes in the book. I just posted a full review for this here.
Pros and (Comic) Cons – An anthology of comics and prose focused on comic conventions. I haven’t read this one.

 

REVIEW: The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak by Brian Katcher

REVIEW: The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak by Brian Katcher

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Zak is in trouble. Coasting through Health class and using too much Wikipedia for an assignment leave him in danger of not graduating. Zak doesn’t have big plans for his future. Or any plans, really. But not graduating would put him in an awful bind. So when the Health teacher says he can redeem himself by serving as an alternate for the Quiz Bowl Team’s next competition, he jumps at the chance. It’s only later that he realizes the competition is the same weekend as his favorite comic book/fandom convention.

Ana can’t believe they have to put up with Zak on the team. He’s a total slacker! He doesn’t take anything seriously, playing card and role playing games all the time. She needs their team to WIN. That’s why she talked the advisor into putting her 13-year-old genius brother, Clayton, on the team. Ana is desperate to do everything right, and make all the right choices. She saw what her parents did when her big sister didn’t follow their expectations.

But when Clayton sneaks off to the con after the Quiz Bowl, Ana will have to trust the “slacker,” Zak, to help her find her brother and get back before anyone finds out they were gone. Otherwise she could lose everything she’s tried to hard to hold onto.

Review

This he-said, she-said story was a lot of fun! I loved Ana and Zak. They think they know about the other person, but their adventure at the con while they try to find Clayton helps them open up to one another. With time, they each see the other a lot more clearly.

The con was a hoot! Our family loves comic book conventions, so parts of the setting were very familiar. In fact, that was the whole reason I read the book. I did a library search for books that take place at or around conventions and discovered this one. I’ve never had a con experience quite like Zak and Ana, thankfully. But I loved watching Ana work her way through her feelings as an “outsider,” especially as she watched Zak in his element.

There are many fun fandom references in the book as well as a sweet romance between the characters. There’s also cosplay, a gay wedding, a case of mistaken identity that turns ugly, and a kidnapping. It’s a WILD ride to the satisfying end. I loved how the author dealt with the parental issues as the story wrapped up. There are a lot of examples here of the problems that come when you assume things about others and the solutions you find when people communicate. Great fun!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Now a Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy

REVIEW: Now a Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Elementia is a trilogy of fantasy books written by the late M. E. Thorne. They’re like a female-led Lord of the Rings. The fandom is just as robust and outspoken. And they aren’t sold on the movie version being filmed in Ireland and directed by a woman.

Iris and Ryder Thorne may be the grandchildren of M. E. Thorne, but they didn’t really know her. As far as their dad is concerned, the books are garbage and they should have nothing to do with them except to bank the royalties as they roll in.

But Ryder fell in love with the books. And after a traumatic run in with a fan, the books seem to help him with the emotional fall out. So he begs their dad to go to Ireland for the filming. Since their dad is on a book deadline, he sends Iris to keep tabs on young Ryder.

Iris would love nothing more than to watch the movie crash and burn. She resents having to parent her younger brother, and she’s terrified of another fan making their family a part of his or her psychotic episode. As Iris gets to know the director and actors for the film, she starts to see Elementia, her family, and herself in new ways.

Review

I stumbled across this one at the library and decided to give it a try. What an unexpected delight! I loved the idea of this – the fantasy book series, the siblings in Ireland, the family drama, and the filming. Iris is awesome – so complicated. The development of her character across the book was one of my favorite things about this. She grows and tries and fails and tries again. She struggles to find her own voice under the barrage of her father’s criticism in her head. It was a terrific journey to watch unfold.

There are so many factors stacked against the movie that there were a lot of roadblocks to keep the story in the book moving forward. The actors, director, and film crew made a little temporary family for Iris and Ryder. Their real family – the off-in-her-own space mom and the angry dad with mother and grief issues of his own – were yet another layer to the larger story.

All of the pieces of this worked for me – the two kids finding their way together in their own lives and with their parents, the romance, the fantasy story in the filming, the feminist threads, and the fandom issues. I thoroughly enjoyed this! Hand this to kids who love fandoms or fandom stories. (Some language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Don't Cosplay with My Heart by Cecil Castellucci

REVIEW: Don’t Cosplay with My Heart by Cecil Castellucci

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Edan’s favorite fandom is Team Tomorrow, a comic book property she discovered through an animated show when she was a kid. Her favorite character is Gargantua, who has a complicated backstory. The choices of her superhero team leave Gargantua without a home or a history. So she turns on her team and becomes a villain.

Edan takes her cues from Gargantua as her own life takes an epic hit. Her dad is sequestered while he is under investigation for hinky financial practices. She watches her mother wither under the strain. Her grandmother tries to strong arm both Edan and her mom to engage in life again.

Edan finds the perfect distractions in her new boyfriend and a cosplay club. She learns to develop her own costumes, making due with thrift store finds and her own beginner sewing skills. She’s going to channel Gargantua as much as she can to walk through the challenges she faces. But a Gargantua-approach may not be enough.

Review

This was fantastic! I loved the Team Tomorrow pieces. There were many news-ish interludes between chapters that covered the story of the comic creators as well as different things that happened to the characters over the run of the comic.  When Edan uses the comic to describe her feelings or her choices, it all comes together perfectly.

The relationships in the story are fairly typical for YA books. Edan is keeping a secret from her best friend which will cause issues later. There’s the boyfriend and then the other guy who the reader knows is a better fit. But through the boyfriend piece I thought the author did an excellent job of showing what “gatekeeping” looks like – when fans (often men) question another geek’s fan credentials by asking testing questions to “prove” true fan status. While it was infuriating as I read it, I loved how the author portrayed this behavior and how it left Edan feeling.

There is no tidy ending to this, but things are moving in the right direction for Edan by the end. I loved that things were left a little open. This was thoroughly delightful from start to finish!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½